Rahul Gandhi Asks Who at Election Commission Ordered TCS To Change Online Form 6

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has questioned the Election Commission over changes made to the online Form 6 used for fresh voter registration, asking who within the poll panel ordered Tata Consultancy Services to make the alteration. Gandhi alleged that the online form was changed “illegally” and also asked who at TCS approved the change and whether the company was pressured to carry it out. His remarks came amid an ongoing dispute over the additional declaration attached to Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Form 6 is used by people seeking to register as voters and can also be used by those seeking re-enrolment after deletion during the SIR enumeration process. An additional declaration was attached to the form during the revision exercise, seeking details about whether the applicant, a parent or a grandparent appeared in electoral rolls prepared during an earlier intensive revision. The Election Commission has maintained that the statutory Form 6 itself was not amended and that the additional declaration was only attached for the SIR process.

The issue gained attention after reports that Election Commissioners had raised objections over changes relating to the online form. According to the reports cited in the controversy, the objections questioned whether the additional requirement could be introduced without an amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The Election Commission, however, has said the declaration for SIR had legal backing and that its decisions concerning the exercise had the approval of the three-member Commission.

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The Election Commission has since removed the additional declaration from its ECINET application portal in states where the SIR process has concluded, with the system changes taking effect on September 30. In those states, applicants can use the standard Form 6 without the additional SIR-related declaration. The declaration continues to apply in states where the revision exercise is still underway.

The poll panel had earlier said that for periods outside the SIR exercise, it would use the forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. It also announced that an expert committee headed by a senior Deputy Election Commissioner, with an independent IIT or IIIT expert, would review ECINET's compliance with applicable laws and rules. The controversy has therefore raised questions over both the implementation of the online voter-registration system and the process through which changes were introduced.

The dispute comes as Opposition parties step up their campaign against the Election Commission's handling of the SIR process. INDIA bloc leaders met in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss a joint course of action, while Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced plans for district-level protests from October 2 to October 8. Opposition MPs are also scheduled to march to the Election Commission on October 6, with INDIA bloc leaders expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu later in October to raise their concerns.

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